The two volumes of Knit Kimono do just what the titles say. You will find a number of lovely patterns that all have this simple shape in common. Although these books have been published a while back, you can still find them online. The Rowan magazine 59 contains an entire Japanese-inspired section with gorgeous patterns, the most trendy one one the cover (see below as well).Comme leur nom l’indique, les deux volumes de Knit Kimono proposent une déclinaison de modèles tous inspirés du kimono. Publiés il y a quelques années, on les trouve toujours en ligne (je n’ai pas trouvé de version française). Le catalogue 59 de Rowan contient une section d’inspiration japonaise avec des patrons magnifiques, le plus tendance se trouvant sur la couverture (voir également ci-dessous).

How do you spot a trend? Well, when you notice similar things happening in a short time span, you might be on to something. Last week, it happened three times in just a few days. It seems there is a new trend emerging in the knitting design world: unisex design, or pattern pairing for both man and woman. Granted, this is not something new but it has been happening a lot recently. Take a look at the folllowing examples and let me know if you think this will be a lasting trend.

And back in 2013, Martin Storey already played with the concept with a couple of designs tailored for men and women. The gorgeous checked sweater Crockett has been in my knitting queue for a long time. The Quilts cardigan is also gorgeous, as is the rest of the Pioneer collection.

I think this trend is bound to grow as more and more men are interested in knitting, or no longer shy from sporting a hand knit item lovingly made for them. And I’ve seen somewhere recently that a new magazine for make knitters was in the works. And thanks to Ellen, who read this post and kindly provided the link, I can now add it here: the name is Rib magazine, it is a Canadian venture and they are open for pre-orders right now, with a first issue for Fall 2016.

So what do you think? A sign of the times or just a happy coincidence?

Patterns & new releases

The theme of the week seems to be about geese, with two new baby blankets offering variations on the same inspiration, flying geese. From left to right:Le thème de la semaine: les oies, avec deux couvertures de bébé ayant la même inspiration. De gauche à droite:

Fringe Association – Hatalong

The pattern has been revealed this week: it is the beautiful L’Arbre hat designed by Cirilia Rose, extracted from her successful book shown on the top left. I have excluded the yellow Malabrigo but still hesitate. I will do a swatch in Anna, even though I think it is not the best yarn for the pattern, just to try it out.Le modèle a été révélé cette semaine: il s’agit de ce joli bonnet L’Arbre de Cirilia Rose, extrait de son livre dont vous voyez la couverture à gauche. Je n’utiliserais la laine jaune Malabrigo, mais j’hésite encore. Je vais faire un petit test avec Anna juste pour voir ce que cela donne, même si je ne pense pas que ce soit le fil le plus adapté au patron.

Hyperballad Giveaway

One more day to play here. I will announce the winner on Tuesday.Encore une journée pour jouer ici. J’annoncerai le gagnant mardi.

Playlist: Our House (in the middle of our street) – Madness

Just to celebrate the fact that we can finally take a bit more care of the exterior of our house, situated exactly in the middle of our street. Cleaning the windows, tending to the lawn, seeing the crocuses bloom, all these are signs that winter has really gone. At last !Pour celebrer le fait que nous pouvons enfin commencer à nous occuper de l’extérieur de notre maison, située exactement au milieu de notre rue. Nettoyer les vitres, préparer la pelouse, admirer les premiers crocus, voilà autant de signes que l’hiver est vraiment terminé. Enfin !

Side slits have been popping up here and there these past few months, and seeing some looks from 2015 collections I notice that they are still going strong in the next few months. Some even venture up front.Les fentes sur les côtés sont de plus en plus présentes depuis quelques mois, et en voyant quelques looks des prochaines saisons je constate que la tendance continue d’être d’actualité. Les fentes se déplacent également sur le devant.

Helmut Lang Winter 2014, J.Crew
Zara S/S 2015, Mugler Pre-Fall 2015

It is actually quite difficult to find a pattern with this attribute in Ravelry, because it is not a keyword in the design search menu. Let’s hope that designers start adding this as a tag so that we can more easily find existing and new patterns with side slits. Here is a small selection of some I could find in recent releases. If you know of any of the kind that you like, please share them in the comments.Il est assez difficile de trouver des modèles avec fentes sur Ravelry car cette étiquette n’existe pas dans les mots clés du menu design. Espérons que les designers penseront à la rajouter sur leurs patrons pour que nous puissions plus facilement les identifier. Voici une petite sélection de ce que j’ai pu trouver dans les parutions récentes. Si vous en connaissez d’autres que vous aimez, merci de les partager dans les commentaires.